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Julie Marie Berman Happy at the 'Hospital' - page 2

By Jessamyn Cuneo on May 31, 2006

Julie Marie Berman, pictures, picture, photos, photo, pics, pic, images, image, hot, sexy, latest, new, interviews, General Hospital, Lulu"['General Hospital's'] a really great starting point," says the former honor student at Marymount High School. "A lot of people begin their careers on a soap opera."

Never mind the head start she got when she was younger. Berman claims that two things lead her to where she is now; the first being a deep and profound appreciation (bordering on obsession) with the movie "The Princess Bride."

"I memorized it and preformed it for my family as a 5-year-old," Berman recalls. "They were like, 'Maybe she should do acting.'"

So when an agent approached her parents soon after this, offering to help get their cute kid into the acting/modeling world, this natural just took off.

"By the time I was seven, I started getting commercials," Berman says. "It was fun. I would get to eat cereal the entire time I was promoting some box of cereal. It was great, as a kid. That's like your dream, to eat cereal all day and play with toys. Then, when I got older, I realized, this is something I could make into a career. It's not a hobby; it's something I'm really passionate about."

Acting became more challenging with time, of course. Working for "General Hospital" proves to have its fair share of hard work for Berman.

"You have to learn how to work with the most outrageous storylines, and try and make them relevant and believable," she says. "People think of daytime television as something lesser than primetime. It's hard to break that stereotype; have people give you a bit more credit for the work that you do."

She pauses to think it over. "There's a stigma with daytime television. I think a lot of people assume that it doesn't take much work or talent to be on a daytime television show, but I disagree. We work hard, we get scripts three days in advance, and I have to be prepared. I think it's hard work and it's great training."

Not only is Berman battling stereotypes and fighting for respect despite the daytime-serial-drama handicap, but she's also playing a character with a heavy past and a lot of expectation to live up to.

"There were a lot of pressures with the character I took on," Berman explains. "[Lulu] had a really big legacy that was there before her with her parents Luke and Laura. There was a lot of pressure for the character to live up to the legacy [her parents] had begun. It forces me to work harder, and I think it's a good kind of pressure — to make sure I'm honest about this character, and I work hard every day."

That doesn't mean that Berman doesn't have fun with her character. She's constantly finding ways to reinvent herself. Julie Marie Berman, pictures, picture, photos, photo, pics, pic, images, image, hot, sexy, latest, new, interviews, General Hospital, Lulu

"[The show] has me doing the best things; things I would never do in my own life," she says. "Everything I've wanted to do in my real life, I pretty much get to do with this character. [Lulu's] completely rebellious, fun and crazy, confident and independent."

Berman pauses, then laughs. "Which isn't to say that I'm not [those things]. But, she gets away with a lot more than I would."

Berman hopes to continue with her career, eventually gracing the big screen with her talent. She's in no rush, however, and seems to love every step of the way.

"I am so happy right now with the way my life is," she says. "It's a very good feeling when I go to work."